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Santa Claus Fund: Making warmth of holiday season last a little longer

We know Christmas isn't about the presents. But shouldn’t every child feel a little special, and get a little something special, at this time of year?

By Paul HunterFeature Writer

Fri., Nov. 30, 2012

I’ll never forget the sleepless anticipation; that aching, almost numbing, desire for Christmas morning to arrive and reveal what Santa had left under the tree.

I’d been a good boy, I’d try to convince myself all those decades ago. Surely, letting those snakes loose in the house or killing the class pet weren’t significant enough transgressions to get myself added to any naughty list. Besides, I’d learned something. Apparently, it’s never a good idea to gaze for hours upon a construction site on a cold winter’s afternoon while transporting a tropical bird.

But no matter how serious the misstep, on the morning of Dec. 25 there would appear the most fantastic objects of a little boy’s desire, whether it was the latest G.I. Joe, a Bobby Hull table-hockey game or one of those vibrating electric football games that, with its constant buzzing, must have driven my parents to distraction. I couldn’t get the wrapping off fast enough.

As you get older, along with the arrival of different kinds of aching and numbness, you learn a few things. Being good had little to do with the magic of Christmas morning. It was all about being loved and being lucky.

I was lucky enough that Santa worked with my parents to help them, somehow, acquire the hottest toy or game that they should never have been able to afford. It must have involved a lot of sacrifice to bring all that joy into the house on Christmas morning but it created memories to last a lifetime.

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Yes, I was very lucky. I understand that looking back.

But there are thousands of children across Toronto who are just as loved, just as good, but aren’t quite as fortunate. No matter what sacrifices their families make, there can be nothing under the tree. No wrapped packages of joy to make Christmas feel different from any day of the year.

For them, the holiday season serves only as a cruel reminder of what they can’t have. We all know Christmas is not just about the presents. No one, not even the most secular and cynical, could argue that it is. But shouldn’t every child feel a little bit special, and get a little something special, at this time of year?

That’s where the Santa in all of all us can help.

Since 1906, the Toronto Star’s Santa Claus Fund has used generous donations from readers to provide gifts for those in need and to help ensure Christmas is a day of reassuring comfort rather than unfulfilled yearning for tens of thousands of kids across the GTA.

As you get older, the gifts of the season are no longer material. The greatest joy of the holiday season is the time spent with family and friends, a feeling of peaceful contentedness and, for many, the renewal of faith.

Giving gifts is just a nice bonus on top of the bubbling goodwill the season brings. I am lucky enough to have children of my own and, again, lucky enough that there can be presents and sleepless nights of anticipation. Just as much for me as for them; I can’t wait to see the excited smiles on Christmas morning.

We all find meaning in our own way during the holidays but if we can share that benevolence and help make Christmas a little more special for as many as 45,000 children around the Toronto area, surely the warmth of the season will last a little bit longer for all of us.

TO DONATE: For secure online donations, please go to thestar.com/santaclausfund

VISA, AMEX AND MASTERCARD: Dial 416-869-4847.

CHEQUES: Please send to. . .

The Toronto Star Santa Claus Fund, One Yonge Street,

Toronto, ON M5E 1E6.

The Star does not allow anyone to solicit on its behalf. Tax receipts will be issued.

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